Tag: transportation

The Ford Motor Company has revealed plans to invest over $11 billion dollars in the development and production of electric cars by 2022. The announcement was made public at the Detroit Motor Show.

The American carmaker plans to produce 16 fully battery-driven vehicles and 24 hybrid cars by 2022. At the moment the Focus is the only Ford car that can be driven by batteries alone.

Apart from producing electric-driven cars for the North American market, Ford also aims at increasing sales to China, the largest growing car market in the world. In addition, it wants to become the world’s leader in fuel-efficient trucks. The car producer also plans to bring a battery-drivenSUV on the market by 2020.

Instead of creating completely new electric vehicles from scratch, Ford wants to electrify cars that are already popular because people will know what they get and buy more easily.

Automobile manufacturers around the world are under pressure to develop electric cars because many large countries, including China, India, France and the U.K. have said they would phase out vehicles powered by internal combustion engines within the next two decades. They also face fiercecompetition from companies like Tesla, a car-maker that specialises in innovative technologies.

As battery costs are going down rapidly, carmakers may find it easier to produce electric cars with higher mileage and at cheaper prices.

The electric version of the Ford Focus at an Amsterdam automobile show – Image: Overlaet

Words

aim = target , plan

announcement = official statement

apart from = other than

battery-driven = run by a battery

billion = a thousand million

competition = trying to be more successful than other companies

decade = ten years

development = working on a new product

electrify = make electric

fierce = here: strong

from scratch = to start something from the beginning without using anything that has existed before

fuel-efficient = car that burns fuel in a more effective way than usual; it does not need as much fuel as others do

fully = completely

higher mileage = here: to make an electric car that can travel more miles or kilometres before you have to recharge it

hybrid car = a car that has both a petrol or diesel engine and an electric motor

in addition = also

innovative = new way of doing something; often better than existing methods

instead of = in something’s place

internal combustion engine = engine that produces power by burning petrol or diesel; it is used in most cars

invest = spend money on …

make public = to say something for everyone to hear

manufacturer = producer

phase out = to slowly stop using or producing something

popular = well-known and liked by many people

production = here: making cars

rapidly = quickly

reveal = announce to many people

sales = selling cars

SUV = sport-utility vehicle = car that is bigger and is made for travelling over rough ground; mostly with a 4-wheel drive

under pressure = to make someone do something by using arguments and threats

vehicle = a machine with a motor that is used to take people or things from one place to another

According to world aviation officials, 2017 was recorded as the safest year in air travel. There were no deaths caused by commercial plane crashes last year.

However, the total number of people killed on civilian aircraft and cargo planes has increasedslightly. Thedeadliest incidentoccurredinJanuary 2017when a Turkish cargo jet crashed into a village in ruralKyrgyzstan asit tried to land in foggyweather. All four crew members and 35 people on thegroundwere killed.

Over the past 20 years, fatalities caused by commercial jetliners have sunken steadily. In 2005, for example, over a thousand people were killed on board commercial flights.

Air travel has become very safe. It is estimated that the accident rate is at 0.06 per one million flights or one fatal accident every 16 million flights.

According to flight experts, chances are that the zero death toll on commercial airlines will not be repeated. Because there are over 37 million flights every year, some kind of accident involving the death of passengers is bound to happen in the near future.

The decline in passenger deaths is due to increased safety measures by the airline industry. Airplanes are becoming more robust and airlines tend to buy newer, more modern aircraft. But aviation officials are worried about the risk of in-flight fires caused by an increase in lithium-ion batteries that are being brought on board, mostly through smartphones and notebooks.

Among the world’s largest countries, the UK has the best air-safety record . Since the end of the 1980s, there has been no fatal accident involving a British plane. In contrast, African countries have the worst safety records.

Crewman inspecting an Airbus 320 before takeoff – Image: Kristoferb

Words

according to = as reported by …

air-safety record = here: facts about how safe travel has been in the past

aviation = everything that is connected to flying an airplane

bound to happen = probably will happen

cargo plane = plane that transports goods, but not passengers

civilian aircraft = private airplanes

commercial airplane = an airplane that flies on a regular schedule with passengers on board

decline = when something is reduced or goes down

due to = because of

estimate = to calculate how big something is based on the information that you have

The government of Singapore has announced that it will ban further cars from its streets and roads starting in February 2018 . Authorities in the island state want to avoid the country from being clogged up in traffic as space is running out.

Singapore has already limited the number of new vehicles that are allowed to drive every year. It has also increasedregistration fees and import taxes on private vehicles. In Singapore it is four times more expensive to own a car in than elsewhere.

Singapore, which is even smaller than New York, is the most densely populated country in the world. 12 % of the land is taken up by roads. Since 2000, the population has risen by 40% to 5.6 million. Currently, there are 600 000 private cars in operation.

Citizens need a permit to own a car. They can get them at regular auctions that are held in the country. Fees for a ten-year permit cost at least $30,000 .

In addition to banning the registration of new cars, the government is spending 28 billion dollars on public transport projects in the next five years. It is expanding its rail network and has added new bus lines.

Traffic in Singapore – Image: Jacklee

Words

announce = to say officially, in public

auction = here: event where people who offer the most money can buy permits

authorities = people or organisations that are in charge of certain things in daily life

avoid = stop something from happening

ban = forbid

billion = a thousand million

citizen = a person who lives in a country and has rights there

clog up = to become blocked

currently = at the moment

densely populated = many people live on a small area of land

elsewhere = in other countries

expand = to make bigger

fee = the money you pay for a service

government = the people who rule a country

in addition = also

increase = to become bigger or more

limit = to stop from becoming more and more

permit = document that allows you to do or have something

public transport = busses, trains, subways etc.. that everyone can use

registration fee = the money you pay for officially owning a car

run out = to become less and less

vehicle = machine or engine that is used to take people from one place to another, such as a car, bus or truck

The last car , a General Motors Holden, has come off the production line in Adelaide, Australia. It ends a 90-year long era of car manufacturing in Australia. At its peak, the Adelaide factory built almost 800 cars a day .

GM Holden is a subsidiary of GM . The closure of Australia’s last car factory will not only leave almost a thousand workers without a job, but also endanger industries that produce parts for Australian-made cars.

Holden has been an Australian national symbol for many decades. The company, which started out as a family business in the mid 19th century, was bought by General Motors in 1931. In 1948 the FX Holden became the first car to be mass-produced in Australia. By 1960, every second car manufactured in Australia was a Holden. The company’s most popular car was the Commodore, which was introduced in 1978.

Since World War II a number of foreign auto manufacturers, including Toyota, Mitsubishi have opened and closed car production plants in Australia. Ford shut down its last plant a year ago.

There are many reasons behind the decline of Australia’s car industry. Through free trade agreements automobile makers no longer have benefits when producing in Australia. Other reasons are high wages and production costs as well as a small domestic market of 24 million.

As the Australian dollar became stronger the country’s exports became more expensive. Holden cars became less competitive , while imported foreign cars were cheaper . Since 2001 Australia’s government has been pouring in $ 5.5 billion into the car industry.

Even though Australia’s car industry has come to an end , the GM Holden will still be available from other manufacturing plants around the world.

GM Holden Caprice, produced in 2007

Words

agreement = when people, companies or countries promise to do something

available = it can be bought

benefit = advantage, help you do or get something

century = a hundred years

competitive = to be more successful than others

closure = to be closed

decade = ten years

decline = when something becomes less important

domestic = home

foreign = from another country

endanger = to put something in danger

era = period of time

foreign = from another country

manufacture = produce, make

mass-produce = to make something in large numbers so that it can be sold cheaply

peak = when it was most successful

plant = factory

pour = here: give

production line = products move along a line of workers who make or check each part

Sidewalk Labs, a Google company, has announced plans to build a futuristic city in Toronto, Canada. The new urban area, called Sidewalk Toronto, aims at turning the waterfront of Lake Ontario into a playground for city developmentand a testing site for new technologies.

The project wants to make cities cheaper, healthier and even more exciting to live in . The new city will offer its residents ultra-fast WiFi connections, lanes for self-driving cars and sustainableenergy sources. Thousands of sensors will report pollution and noise levels, as well as monitor traffic and levels of carbon monoxide.

Planners of Sidewalk Toronto want to find new solutions for overpopulation, waste management , traffic , pollution and other urban problems. Several companies have said that they will make their services available to the new city.

Planners estimate that the project will cost around 1 billion dollars. However, it will also offer tens of thousands of people a place to live, work and have fun. Eventually, similar projects may spread to other parts of the world, helping to build smarter and greener cities.

Google has also announced that it plans to move its Canadian headquarters to Sidewalk Toronto.

Skyline of Toronto from Lake Ontario – Image: George Socka

Words

aim = wants to , plans to

announce = to officially say something in public

available = here: something that people can use

carbon monoxide = poisonous gas that produces carbon when it is burned

development = to become bigger, more modern and advanced

estimate = think about how much something will cost

eventually = as time goes on, slowly

futuristic = something that looks unusual and very modern

headquarters = the main building or offices used by a large company

however = but

lane = one of two or many areas on the road that keeps cars apart

monitor = watch, observe

overpopulation = too many people live on a small area of land

resident = here: a person who lives in a city

services = work or help that a company gives you

similar = almost the same

solution = way of dealing with a problem

spread = move to another place

sustainable = something that can be used without causing danger to the environment or nature

urban = about a city

waste management = way of getting rid of unwanted materials and dirty water

waterfront = part of a city or town that is next to the sea or lake

WiFi connection = connecting computers and other machines to the Internet by using radio signals

According to a new report, diesel cars have caused thousands of premature deaths in Europe in the past few years. These deaths could have been avoided if countries had met anti-pollution standards. The recently published paper comes almost two years after the Volkswagen scandal, in which the German car maker was caught cheating on emission tests.

Europe is a continent with about a hundred million diesel-driven vehicles, almost twice as many as in all the other countries of the world combined. Years ago governments and car makers encouraged consumers to buy diesel cars because they were cheaper, used less fuel and produced less carbon dioxide. Many governments also offered tax reductions if people bought diesel cars. What has not been known until now is that diesel cars produce more nitrogen oxides, which may cause lung diseases.

Italy, Germany and France were the countries that recorded the most premature deaths from diesel-polluted vehicles. Especially diesel trucks that drive in denselypopulated areas contribute to the high level of pollution.

The Volkswagen scandal also shown that emission tests are not accurate and that in some cases diesel vehicles emit up to 4 times more substances than they do when tested in a lab.

Since the scandal broke , governments in Europe and elsewhere have been trying to get people to buy more petrol-driven cars. They have become more efficient than diesel vehicles and the difference in prices are not not as high any more.

Diesel powered car – Image by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz

Words

according to = as said by …

accurate = detailed; exact

anti-pollution standards = laws that are made to keep pollution levels in a country low

avoid = stop ; not happen

carbon dioxide = gas that is produced when animal or people breathe out or when carbon is burned in the air

cheat = here: to trick people and not tell them the truth

combined = together

contribute = to help make something happen

densely populated = when many people live in a small area

efficient = if something works well

emission test = testing how much gas or dirty substances are sent into the air

emit = send into the atmosphere

encourage = to say that people should do something

especially = above all

fuel = liquid used to produce energy and make a car drive

government = the people who rule a country

nitrogen oxide = combination of nitrogen and oxygen

paper = report

petrol-driven = run with normal petrol, not diesel

premature = something that happens before the natural time

record = write down information

substance = material

tax reduction = to pay less tax than you normally would

vehicle = machine with an engine that is used to transport people or products